In the Middle of the Night
by ElizabethWriter
Summary: Grace wakes up sick and after deteriorating, Danny quickly realizes she needs medical attention. What happened? Will he get help in time?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N Here is a two shot of some Grace and Danny hurt/comfort. Danny is such an amazing father. Special thanks to my Beta, xx1LionsflamE7xx! Shot two, soon to come :) Please review! It actually makes my entire day 3**

Grace was suddenly thrown out of her deep sleep and into her bedroom. For a moment she was confused, but her thoughts soon caught up to speed. She realized she was in her bed at Danno's house. Despite the safety of the house, an uneasy feeling came over her. A wave of heat and tingles passed over her body as her stomach churned.

_I don't feel good. Danno. I need Daddy.  
_ She climbed out of bed and started to go as quickly as she could to go to Danno's room. She made it two steps before deciding she should probably just go straight to the bathroom. Two steps later, her stomach made a different decision. Before she could really even think about it, she bent over and quietly threw up onto the floor. It felt like a basketball game was going on in her head. She was so tired. She bent over a little further to place a hand on the un-dirtied floor and dropped herself down next to the pool of vomit and began to cry.

Danny was suddenly awake, unsure if he had heard a noise in the house. He glanced at the clock: 3:21am. He stilled completely and listened. Then he heard a cry:  
"Daddyyy,"

He was out of bed before Grace had even made it to the second syllable of the word. He found himself instinctively grabbing where his holster would be, before realizing he was in sleepwear. He made it to Grace's doorway and flicked on the light switch.

He took in the piteous sight before him: Grace, six years old, in her matching purple PJ set, curled up in a ball on the floor crying, sitting next to a puddle of her own vomit. She had clearly made a valiant effort to get to the bathroom, but didn't make it in time. His heart instantly broke.

"Daddy," she sobbed.

"Gracie," he breathed, sweeping over to her and kneeling down at her side. "Shhh, it's okay monkey," he said quietly, wrapping her in his arms.

"I'm sorry-y-y," She shook through her tears.

"Aw, no, don't worry about it monkey," he reassured her, "I'll clean it up, it's alright."

He released an arm from their embrace and slid it under her knees to scoop her off the floor. He carried her out to the living room, stopping to grab the affectionately named "puke bowl" from the medicine closet. He placed Grace down gently on the couch and turned on a desk light before he knelt down. He placed a hand on her forehand—she was hot. He took her hands, which were incredibly cold.

"Did you feel sick when you went to bed, Grace? You barely ate yesterday,"

"A little bit," she said, her eyes squinting tightly. Her cheek pulled upwards.

"What's wrong?" He asked, concerned by her pained expression.

"Head 'urts, Danno," She replied, "Turn off the light, peas?"

"Okay Monkey," He said, switching off the lamp. He hated seeing her so sick. He sighed, "I'm going to get some stuff to make you feel better. This is right here if you need it, okay?" He said, placing the puke bowl in the crook of her elbow.

She nodded in response, nuzzling into the couch. Danny got up and went back to the medicine cabinet, pulling out the children's Tylenol and a thermometer. He grabbed an extra blanket from the linens and made his way back to the couch, placing his things down on the coffee table.

He threw the blanket over her and she gratefully adjusted underneath its warmth, "I'm gonna take your temperature here, okay?" He said, before slipping the tip into her ear. After a moment it beeped and the screen illuminated: 103.8 degrees. "Oh gees Gracie, no wonder you're not feeling good, huh? Your fever's really high," He said, sympathetically stroking her arm. He turned to grab the Tylenol off the table. He held it towards the light coming from the hallway and read the dosage from the side. He screwed off the cap and poured the pink sludge into the small plastic cup.

"Don't feel good Danno," She interrupted with rising volume, shifting on the couch. Danny quickly put down the medicine and swung back around to assist her in her sitting up. The sound of her gag echoed in the bowl and she threw up what was left in her stomach.

"Okay- okay, it's okay, Grace," Danny said as he held the bowl to her with one hand and rubbed her back with the other. Once she was done, he put the bowl on the table as she whimpered.

He placed a hand on the side of her face. "Shhh, it's okay monkey," There was no way she was going to keep the Tylenol down, but her fever was too high. Danny looked down at his watch. It was going to be at least another three hours until urgent care opened, five hours until the pediatrician.

Grace peeled the blanket off of her and gently pushed Danny away. She scooted her way to the edge of the couch and slid off.

"Grace?" Danny questioned. Grace simply continued and weakly stepped forward, while Danny moved to both stop her and hold her up.

"Grace?" He tried again firmly.

"I havta'… Go to school," She slurred, weakening in his hold before straightening back up.

"Grace, it's the middle of the night, sweetie. You're sick," Danny said, so worried by her confusion.

"Danno-" She tried. She knees buckled and this time she didn't regain her balance at all.

"I'm right here monkey," Danny replied, before she let him take all of her body weight. "Gracie?" He called.

"Ahwl-" Grace tried for words but she only managed some jumbled sounds before she just gave up completely into Danny's arm.

"Okay-" Danny grunted as he lowered her onto the floor, placing a hand behind her head.

"Grace?" He called again. Her gaze was focused beyond him. "Come on, Grace," He begged quietly. Her body twisted, becoming completely stiff. "Oh god," he breathed quietly.

"GRACE?!" He shouted as she shook violently. Her arms drew into her chest and she emitted involuntary noises. He panicked for just a moment, and then sprung into action. He placed the balled up blanket under her head and pushed the coffee table away to give her plenty of room, so she wouldn't hurt herself. He ran back to his bedroom, grabbed his cellphone, and ran back to her side. He placed a hand on her arm just to comfort her, careful not to hold her down.

"It's okay Gracie, I'm going to get you help," He reassured her, even though she probably couldn't hear him. He quickly dialed in the number. Finally, there was a voice on the other side of the line.

"911, what's your emergency?"

"This is Lieutenant Daniel Williams with Five-0. I need an ambulance to my location immediately. I have a six year old girl here having a new-onset seizure," He asserted to the operator. He recited his address and the voice assured him that an ambulance was on the way. He hung up the phone.

He felt helpless. There was nothing he could do but watch her have the violent seizure. Her eyes were open but he knew she wasn't there. He wanted more than anything to make it stop. Instead, he did what he could: he ran his fingers through her hair and whispered reassurance in her ear.

A hiccup climbed into her throat and Danny knew exactly what was coming next. He grabbed her and rolled her onto her side, just in time for her to vomit. There wasn't much of anything left in her.

"Oh god, Gracie," He said under his breath, trying not to cry.

Danny Williams was never scared. He had stared murderers in the face, felt the cold metal touch of a gun being pressed to his head, and knew what it was like to have poison pulsing through his veins. He wasn't scared. But now, looking down at his little girl, he was terrified. Was he losing her?

As her wrenching slowed, so did her jerky movements. Now only her feet hands remained curled up into fists. After two more pain-staking minutes, he heard sirens. Not wanting to waste a single moment, he grabbed his badge off the counter and scooped Grace up. It helped that her body was a little less stiff now. He made his way to the door and carefully balance Grace in one arm as he reached to open the door with the other. The ambulance was pulling up and he flew down the porch steps to greet it.

**A/N Dun dun dunnnn. What's wrong with Grace? Will Danny get help in time? Answers are coming. All in due time. Leave a review while you wait :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Without further ado, here are your answers! Shout out again to my beta!**

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One paramedic hopped out and rushed them to the back of the truck, helping Danny inside before he bombarded him with questions.

How old she was. How long she had been seizing for. If she had ever had a seizure before. If she had hit her head recently. How she was feeling prior to the seizure. How long she'd had the fever. What medications she had taken. How many times she vomited. If she was dizzy. If she was disoriented. If she was sensitive to light.

Danny answered them all, but never really took his eyes of Gracie who was lying on the gurney in front of him. He held her arm until her hand had relaxed enough to be held. By the end of the interrogation, her body was finally calming down and her muscles were beginning to release. It looked like she was asleep with her eyes lazily open.

After a minute, her eyes moved from their fixed, blank gaze. She started to shift around, pulling her hand out of her father's grasp. She let out a fearful cry while trying to withdraw away from the two men, hitting at them and the air. She screamed.

"Okay, you're alright," the paramedic said calmingly.  
"Gracie, shhhh, you're okay, it's Daddy," Danny soothed. She stopped hitting and her voice lowered to a whimper. "It's Daddy sweetheart," he repeated quietly. Her body relaxed on the gurney, with the exception of a hand that weakly extended in the direction of her father's voice. He immediately took it. After a slight delay, her eyes moved to look towards him. Danny pushed some of the hair out of her eyes to look at her.

"I'm right here monkey, it's okay," he said reassuringly. She replied with some unfocused eye contact and he smiled at her. The paramedic also gave a small smile as he watched relief appear on the father's face.

"She's post-ictal," The paramedic explained, "it's the stage after a seizure, when the body is still recovering. It's very common to be combative like that. She'll be confused and tired for the next few minutes."

Danny looked up and nodded at him. He focused back on Grace as she drifted in and out of consciousness.

As they pulled into the hospital's ambulance bay, Danny felt Grace's hand tense up, along with her arm.

"Grace?" He shouted, a new wave of panic rushing over him. The rest of Grace's body stiffened and she launched into another seizure. "Oh god," he said quietly, "Nonono!"

"Sir, I need you to stay calm, okay?" the paramedic said before knocking on the glass separating them from his partner.

"She's seizing again!" He yelled.

"We're here," The driver replied.

The ambulance came to a halt and the doors swung open, revealing five people in scrubs. Both paramedics wheeled her down onto the ground and began to relay medical jargon while Grace continued to convulse. Danny followed as closely behind as he could without tripping himself or the paramedic in front of him. As they rushed down the hallway and into a room, the man in blue scrubs began to assess Grace.

"Hey Grace, can you hear me?" He asked while shining his penlight into her eyes. With no response, he called out, "Give me one of Ativan!"

The room was a flurry with doctors and nurses. Danny was waiting anxiously at the head of the bed, trying to stay out of everyone's way. The man in the blue scrubs injected something into Grace's IV. He watched as Grace's body slowly stilled and relaxed. He gently stroked her cheek while the man in the blue scrubs continued to call out commands. A nurse put her hands on Danny's shoulders and they begin to roll Grace away.

"What's going on, please, is she going to be okay?" Danny asked the nurse breathlessly. The man in the blue scrubs approached him.

"Mr. Williams, I'm Dr. West, the attending pediatric physician," He spoke, shaking his hand quickly and firmly. "I'm very concerned that Grace has an infection that is affecting her nervous system. I can't be sure until I see the results, but I suspect she might have meningitis. She's going to get a CT and a spinal tap right now. I will come update you as soon as possible."

Danny nodded, trying to take it all in.

"This is Candice," Dr. West said while gesturing to the nurse beside him, "She'll show you to the relatives room,"

Candice loosely put her arm around Danny and led him to the room. He sat down slowly into a chair and Candice left, closing the door quietly behind her.

Danny tried to slow his thoughts down enough to understand them, but he was left with an overwhelming blankness. _Does she have meningitis? Will she be okay? Am I losing her? No, I can't lose her, I just can't. Is it my fault? Did I do everything I could? Should I have caught this sooner? When can I see her? God, I just want to see her. _

Tears pooled in his eyes, and in the solitude of the room, he cried for his little girl. He may have been sitting there for seconds, minutes, or hours. He didn't know. He knew he couldn't do this alone anymore. He picked his phone out of his pocket and pulled himself together enough to dial. It was almost 4am now, but he knew there was always one person he could call—and only one person he _wanted_ to call.

"Danno?" Steve's voice groggily answered.

"Steve," he exhaled, his voice cracking. As soon as he heard that troubled voice, Steve was out of bed and pulling on his clothes.

"Danny? Buddy, talk to me, what's going on?" He asked urgently, aneurism face activated.

"It's Grace. Something's wrong, I…" He replied, not able to find any more words as a sob threatened to escape.

"Where are you?" Steve asked instantly, now worried for both his friend and his Gracie.

"Shriner's Hospital," He said weakly.

"I'm on my way, Danny. Hang in there man," Steve reassured him.

The line clicked and Danny stood up, beginning to pace. _Where is she? What's taking so long? What if she wakes up and she's scared and I'm not there? What if something happened?_

He knew he had to be strong, for Gracie's sake. He wiped away his tears as he continued to pace between the two rows of chair. While running his hand down his face, the stubble pricked at his fingers. His gaze fell onto an area of toys and book in the corner of the room. The bright, happy colors made him want to throw up. The door clicked and he spun around to see Dr. West enter.

"Doctor," Danny said intensely.

"Mr. Williams, I'm afraid Grace's results have come back positive for viral meningitis. We've started her on a medication to reduce the inflammation in her brain, which was the cause of the seizures. You're daughter is reasonably sick, but there is no reason to believe she won't make a full recovery." Dr. West reported confidently.

Danny shifted his weight, feeling like he might start to cry again. These tears would be different though—Grace was going to be okay. _Oh god. She was going to be okay._ He exhaled completely.

"Thank you. Thank you," Danny replied. "Can I see her?"

"Of course. Follow me," Dr. West nodded with a smile. He led Danny out the door and down two hallways. "She's still sleepy though because of the sedative we gave her to stop the seizure." Dr. West informed him as they walked. "She's quite the… _Fighter_, Mr. Williams," He added with a smirk.

"Damn right she is," Danny said smoothly, a smile finally brushing his lips and tears coming to his eyes once again. Dr. West looked like he had something to add, but thought better of it and smiled instead. They arrived at a room and Dr. West gestured towards the door. Danny nearly flew into the room, slowing only as he neared the bed. He gently sat on the edge of the mattress and took Grace's small hand.

"Gracie," he nearly whispered to her. She stirred. "It's Daddy sweetheart," he sang as sweet as a lullaby. Grace's eyes opened and her head turned to the sound of his voice. She looked him right in the eyes and a tired smile pulled her cheeks up.

"Danno," She replied, as excitedly as a sedated child possibly could. A feeling of warmth and satisfaction instantly enveloped Danny. This was all he needed in the world: to hold his daughter's hand as she smiled at him. He let out a sigh of relief, nearly chuckling or crying—he wasn't sure which.

"Hey monkey," he said kindly, placing a hand on her cheek. She practically snuggled into his touch. She stretched her arms towards him. He helped her scoot over and then he laid down on his side next to her, wrapping his arms around as she melted into his chest.

"I love you so much, Grace," he whispered, kissing the top of her head.

"I know. I love you too Daddy," she replied, nestling further into his embrace.

"I'm so happy you're okay. I thought I was losing you, Gracie," he said, his voice shaking.

"I'm right here Danno," she said innocently.

"I know you are," he chuckled through his tears.

He silently cried. Grace could feel the jumping of his chest. After a couple of minutes, his chest stilled. Now calmed, Danny listened to the reassuring rhythm of her quiet breaths.

He heard a ruckus down the hall, then Steve's voice.

"Gracie?" Danny roused her.

"Mhm?"

"Uncle Steve is here and I have to tell him you're okay before he kicks down any doors, alright Monkey?"

"Okay Danno,"

"I'll be right back. I'm not going anywhere."

Danny slid out of the bed and made his way quickly outside. He saw Steve at the end of the hall, no doubt verbally abusing the nurse he was talking to.

"Steve!" Danny called, jogging over to him.

"Danny. What happened?" He asked nervously. Danny's eyes were red and he was still in pajama pants and a t-shirt. His hair was far from its usual slicked-back glory. He looked like he had gone through hell. He didn't dare to imagine what had happened with Grace.

"Grace woke up sick and started having seizures," he summarized in a low, unwavering tone, trying not to relive the trauma. "They diagnosed her with meningitis and now she's on medication. She's gonna be okay, Steve," he told him gratefully. Steve was on the verge of the same happy tears that Danny was crying just moments ago. Steve took Danny into a firm hug. They released and shared a moment of eye contact. Danny turned to the nurse still seated at the station behind them.

"Sorry, um, this is my partner Steve. He's a bit, _abrasive_ at times," reported Danny, apologizing on Steve's behalf.

"That's quite alright," She said with an understanding nod, "we deal with anxious parents all the time—children are precious cargo. Your daughter will be just fine, Steve."

Steve glanced at Danny and as soon as their eyes met, they couldn't help but giggle just a bit. They both almost cried as tension they didn't know they were holding broke.

"Oh, no, he's not that kind of partner. We're detectives," Danny explained sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. Steve gestured to the badge he was wearing on his hip. The nurse was embarrassed, but took it in stride.

"Oh my! I'm so sorry. I'll pretend that you didn't say that though," she said leaning forward towards Steve and adding quietly, "So you can go visit her. Family only," She said with a wink.

"Thank you, so much," Danny said with an appreciative smile. She shined a grin back at them and Danny led Steve back to Grace's room. Steve waited outside and Danny entered.

"Grace," he called to her softly.

"Daddy?" she replied.

"Hey monkey. Uncle Steve is here, do you want to see him?" he asked. She smiled and nodded. Danny opened the door and mouthed:

"Come in."

As soon as Steve came into view, Grace smiled again. "Uncle Steve," she said happily.

"Hey sweetie, how are you feeling?" he asked quietly, pulling a chair up to the safety rail. Danny sat down on the other side of the bed.

"Okay. I feel like there's a balloon in my head," she said with an adorably inquisitive look. Steve and Danny both chuckled, fairly impressed with her speculation.

"Well, Dr. West said the medication will make it deflate soon, don't worry," Danny said with a grin.

"Dr. West?" Grace asked.

"Yeah, he was the nice doctor that helped you," Danny reminded her.

"I think I punched him," Grace stated, as simply as could be. Both men beside her started laughing. "Well I didn't know who he was! So I punched him!" She justified, gesturing 'what else was I supposed to do?' with her tiny hands.

"So _that's_ why Dr. West called you a fighter. I think you've been spending too much time with Uncle Steve," Danny joked, pointing at the man across from him. Steve moved closer to Grace's ear.

"You know, the first time I worked with your dad, he punched me right on the nose," Steve said quietly, theatrically pretending to hit himself in the face. "So, I think you get it from him," he said pulling a crooked smile.

"Hey, don't you go turning my own daughter against me," Danny said wryly.

"He won't, Danno," Grace said endearingly.

"That's my girl," Danny said leaning down and kissing her on the forehead. "Now why don't you get some rest, okay?"

She obliged, adjusting herself on the bed as Danny pulled up the covers.

"In the morning, we can give Auntie Kono and Uncle Chin a wake up call and see if they want to come hang out with us," Danny said.

"I bet if you ask _really_ nicely, Kono will even bring you a coloring book and crayons," Steve added with a look of eagerness. Grace nodded enthusiastically, her tongue popping through her teethy smile.

Steve kissed her hand.

"Sleep well, Princess Grace," He said kindly, before exiting the room.

Once they were alone, Grace calmly called to Danny, sleep clearly imminent.

"Daddy?"

"What is it?"

"Will you come here again?" She asked, reaching towards him once again.

"Of course, monkey," He replied, slipping off his shoes this time before sliding next to her on the bed. She cuddled up to him.

"I love you Daddy."

"I love you too Grace."

**A/N: I hope you liked it! Please review if you have a second- I'd love to hear what you have to say :)**


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